
Five storylines to follow at this week's U.S. Open
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania, June 9 (Reuters) - Five storylines to follow as the world's best players descend upon Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, this week for the June 12-15 U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler has three wins in his last four starts on the PGA Tour, each by at least four strokes, and arrives at Oakmont as clear favourite to win the U.S. Open and pick up his fourth career major title and third leg of a career Grand Slam.
World number one Scheffler, whose start to the season was delayed due to hand surgery following a freak kitchen accident last December, enters the year's third major in full stride and in complete control of a game that appears well suited for an event that is known as the toughest test in golf.
Since the calendar turned to May, Scheffler has matched the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under total at TPC Craig Ranch, won the PGA Championship by five strokes, finished fourth at Colonial and then won his U.S. Open tune-up event at Muirfield Village by four strokes.
Bryson DeChambeau, who made a clutch par save on the final hole to win last year's U.S. Open after Rory McIlroy's collapse down the stretch, now aims to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2018.
DeChambeau, a fan favourite and twice U.S. Open champion who is dominant off the tee and a regular force at golf's biggest events, will play his first major since finishing runner-up at last month's PGA Championship for a second consecutive year.
Since joining LIV Golf in June 2022, the big-hitting DeChambeau has recorded seven top-10 finishes in 12 majors, including last year's U.S. Open triumph at Pinehurst.
Rory McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at this year's Masters, will look to recapture his major magic after a disappointing finish at last month's PGA Championship when he returns to an event where he has endured his fair share of heartbreak in recent years.
The U.S. Open has been one of the better majors for McIlroy of late as the Northern Irishman is riding a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes, but that stretch includes heartbreaking runner-up showings in each of the last two years.
McIlroy, who missed the cut in his U.S. Open tune-up event in Canada, will also need to be much more accurate off the tee this week than at the PGA Championship where he used a back-up driver after his regular one was ruled non-conforming earlier in the week, though there were no concerns of player intent.
This is the final year of six-times major champion Phil Mickelson's five-year exemption into the U.S. Open for winning the 2021 PGA Championship and he will once again look to turn back the clock in what could be his last chance at winning the one trophy standing between him and the career Grand Slam.
The 54-year-old, who has been U.S. Open runner-up a record six times, missed the cut in the last three years. It will be his fourth U.S. Open at Oakmont, having finished tied 47th there in 1994 before missing the cut in 2007 and 2016.
Mickelson produced one of golf's most improbable wins when, aged 50, he won the 2021 PGA Championship to become the oldest major champion.
Oakmont Country Club, regarded by many as the country's toughest course, is a quintessential U.S. Open venue.
It is garnering plenty of attention ahead of the year's third major given its punishing rough, narrow fairways, lightning-fast greens and slew of bunkers that could all combine to keep the winning score above par.
Hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time, the par-70 Oakmont course will be set up at 7,372 yards this week.
The venue played as a par-70 over the last two U.S. Opens (2007 and 2016) and during that time only four players scored under par for the week.
The field scoring average has been at least two strokes over par in every U.S. Open round at Oakmont, dating back to 1927.
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Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Rory McIlroy is undergoing a post-Masters hangover and the US Open comes at an unfortunate time for him - no course is more vindictive towards absent minds, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
Drivers and drive. Rory McIlroy 's recent struggles in each department have stripped away any sense of bullishness from his outer layer as he embarks on the US Open this week. That he must nurture such difficulties at Oakmont of all places is a case of unfortunate timing. No course is more vindictive towards absent minds and loose tee shots and there is no escaping the reality that the world No 2 is enduring a post-Masters hangover. To sum up why this is a less-than-ideal setting for McIlroy's current situation, consider what he told us on Tuesday about a reconnaissance trip here eight days earlier. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81,' he said. The upside is that the weather in Pittsburgh this week is far more benign than last. The downside is that after his Monday round he then travelled to the Canadian Open and missed the cut by a mile. Having tied for 47th at the PGA Championship in his previous outing, there are grounds to ask what is eating away at a golfer who started the season like a runaway train and whose mood since that Augusta catharsis has been as variable as his driving. The efforts to correct the latter have been complicated. He revealed here that he will play the season's third major with his fourth different driver configuration in the space of a month, after binning the one with which he hit less than half of the fairways in Canada. Given the severe penalties for entering the rough at Oakmont, McIlroy will be hoping for a significant uplift and he has at least offered positive feedback. 'I did a good bit of practice at home and feel like I'm in a better place with everything going into this week,' he said. Asked what he learned, he added: 'That I wasn't using the right driver.' Enquiries to establish which model of TaylorMade weapon he has chosen rebounded off a chippy wall: 'Come out and watch me hit balls, and you'll see.' It should be pointed out that, usually, McIlroy has a strong, respectful relationship with reporters. But such dynamics have been tested a little recently, as shown by his media blackout after it emerged he was forced to change a non-compliant driver prior to the PGA Championship. His unhappiness in the aftermath was directed towards journalists doing their jobs but the more relevant frustration, clearly, was that he had to switch the most effective club in his bag. Scottie Scheffler endured an identical disruption and yet he prevailed to win the tournament, as McIlroy himself pointed out on Tuesday. 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me,' he said. It's an interesting time for McIlroy. He has spoken previously about the emotional come-down that accompanied his Masters high and he went further on the theme here, saying: 'Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next. 'I think I've always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next. 'I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit.' No one of sound mind would dispute the latter. 'I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,' added McIlroy. 'Then it's just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working. 'At some point, you have to realise that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season.' While there have been none of the usual declarations of confidence, it should not be overlooked that McIlroy has not finish outside the top nine in the past six editions of this most idiosyncratic of tournaments, including his heartbreak against Bryson DeChambeau in 2024. US Opens are not for everyone, but McIlroy, the 2011 champion, is far more suited to the test than most. The most challenging of surroundings could also offer the jolt he currently needs.


Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
DeChambeau not seeking LIV Golf exit: 'they see the value in me'
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania, June 10 (Reuters) - Bryson DeChambeau, who has evolved into one of the game's most popular players, revealed on Tuesday that his contract with LIV Golf expires next year and that he has no plans to take his big-hitting talents elsewhere. DeChambeau joined LIV in 2022 and his future with the Saudi-backed circuit has been the source of speculation, with some suggesting the two-times major champion turned down a proposal for a new contract and is looking to return to the PGA Tour. But DeChambeau, speaking to reporters at Oakmont Country Club ahead of his U.S. Open title defence this week, said he feels the team element of LIV Golf is a viable option and one he wants to be a part of. "We're looking to negotiate end of this year, and I'm very excited," said DeChambeau, who is captain of LIV Golf's Crushers GC. "They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that. Super excited for the future." LIV Golf, which features no-cut, 54-hole events, held its inaugural event in June 2022, and through mega-money contracts and lucrative purses has lured some of golf's biggest names. The PGA Tour and Saudi backers of rival LIV Golf have yet to reach an official deal that would unite the game of golf despite agreeing to a "framework agreement" two years ago to merge and form one unified commercial entity. "I think that LIV is not going anywhere," said DeChambeau, who headlines the list of 14 LIV Golf players in the U.S. Open field this week. "(Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan) has been steadfast in his belief on team golf, and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable option. I think it's a viable commercial option." DeChambeau said he feels there is a "sustainable model" for team golf. "Our team has been EBITDA positive for the past two years, so we're starting to grow and move in the right direction, just like TGL," said DeChambeau. "TGL has done a great job. They've got some teams that are making some money, and I believe there is a sustainable model out there." TGL is a tech-infused indoor golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that held its first season earlier this year and featured players hitting shots at a simulator screen before moving to a green that can rotate 360 degrees, creating hole-to-hole variations. "How it all works with the game of golf, who knows, but I know my worth. I know what LIV brings to the table," DeChambeau added. "And I'm excited for the future of what golf is going to be."


Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rory McIlroy working to regain form, motivation after savoring Masters triumph
June 10 - Rory McIlroy is making no apologies for savoring the biggest accomplishment of his career, but insists Oakmont Country Club has his full attention this week. Since claiming his first Masters title in dramatic fashion in April, McIlroy's form has fallen off precipitously. After a tie for seventh at the Truist Championship, he tied for 47th at the PGA Championship before missing the cut by 12 shots last week in Canada, where he finished better than only four players. "You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next," McIlroy said on Tuesday ahead of this week's U.S. Open outside of Pittsburgh. "I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week." McIlroy missed the cut by two shots the last time the U.S. Open was contested at Oakmont in 2016, carding a 77 and a 71 to finish 8 over. "Don't really remember much about 2016. I think I just tried to erase it from the memory bank," he joked. McIlroy called Oakmont "a big brute of a golf course" that will test every club in the bag. The club with the biggest question in McIlroy's bag has been his driver. After driving it "OK" in his words at Augusta, McIlroy struggled mightily off the tee at the PGA Championship after having to make a switch after his driver failed a pre-tournament inspection. Despite missing the cut in Canada, McIlroy said he has made progress with a new driver while playing at home and during Tuesday's practice round. "Hopefully I can hit a few more fairways than I have been hitting and give myself some opportunities," he said. "It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. "But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win." With his Masters victory, McIlroy accomplished the career Grand Slam at 36 years old. His lone U.S. Open victory came 14 years ago at Congressional. The Northern Irishman was asked the biggest challenge he's facing as he attempts to reset from the high of Augusta. "I think it's trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago. Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working," he said. "At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season, here, (the Open Championship at) Portrush, Ryder Cup. So, those are obviously the three big things that I'm sort of looking at for the rest of the year. "But I think weeks like (the PGA at) Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process." Many speculated that finally claiming his first Masters would free McIlroy to reel off several more majors. But even if that doesn't happen this week -- or ever again -- McIlroy plans to enjoy this stage of his life. One that includes playing more tennis with friends on the road, less concerned about suffering an injury that impacts his golf game, and traveling the world with his daughter, Poppy. "I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen," McIlroy said. "But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that." --Field Level Media